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End of an era as The Pogues quit touring U.S. THE POGUES final concert in America brings an end to an era for the controversial Irish band.
“We can't always entirely trust Shane to deliver the goods," whistle player Spider Stacy recently told Billboard. The iconic Rolling Stone magazine described their demise: "MacGowan, grizzled and largely toothless at 53, hasn’t released a new Pogues song since 1990’s Hells Ditch. "He slurs his words heavily and refuses any interviews or television promotion. He’s sad to watch, considering he’s a songwriting genius who was an innovator to pair traditional Irish instruments with a punk rock attitude. Joe Strummer, who filled MacGowan’s role when he quit the band in the early Nineties, called him "one of the best writers of the century." The nation is behind The Script
THEY were rated Ireland’s best live band, their album spent five weeks at number one in the Irish charts and are currently touring the UK to high acclaim .the lead singer recently turned down the advances of Cameron Diaz yet Ireland’s critical financial plight is of more concern to members of The Script.
The Dubliners drew a bigger crowd to last year’s Oxegen festival than co-headliners Oasis, they won the Best Live category at Ireland’s Meteor awards this year and their latest album Science And Faith entered the UK charts at number one and has sold over quarter of a million copies.
The Script are no longer Ireland’s hottest prospects – they have already made it. Their first album released in 2008 has reached sales of over two million.
The nation is behind us,” says singer, Danny O’Donoghue. “I’ve seen things at Script gigs I never thought I’d see, grown men climbing on each other’s shoulders, singing along, tears in their eyes.”
But the plight of the nation and seeing friends and relatives struggling have affected the band.
“I’m looking at people fighting and nearly rioting on TV and it breaks my heart,” said guitarist Mark Sheehan. “As a bum musician with no job, I’ve had to deal with my own personal recession.
“I’ve been broke for 15 years, living and leeching off my sisters, sleeping on couches, living in studios, all this s**t. All I ever had was music. That’s been my lifeline.”
“I grew up stealing cars, the usual trouble, but music gave me a way out,” added Sheehan. “At that time, MTV only came on in Dublin after midnight, it was the fuzzy channel, and black culture looked the most fun. It wasn’t about gangs and guns, it was singing and dancing. “
After being on the road for two years the band returned home to a different Dublin. The Celtic Tiger had fled to be replaced by depressive news of an economic crisis.
“Oh my God, It’s like you’ve waited for that great day when you can say, 'I’ve finally made it’ and everyone else is saying, 'My life has turned to s**t’,” says O’Donoghue.
“I felt really guilty,” says Sheehan. “Meeting mates who used to buy me a beer when I was the one who was suffering. You want to go, 'Oh, man, we played with McCartney, we got to number one,’ but they’re going, 'I just lost my job’, or 'I split up with my wife’.”
“What’s going on in Ireland is a microcosm for the rest of the world,” says O’Donoghue.“When times are hard, we’ve got to come closer as people. I don’t think we were good with money, as a nation.
“We got greedy, and it ruined Ireland. But we are a strong people and we’ve got through worse in the past. We will get through this. I really believe that.” Danny O’Donoghue created a stir when he decided not to date a stunning Hollywood movie star.
He said: "Cameron Diaz once asked me out, she gave her number to my management, I didn't call her though, I'm happy with my girlfriend. To be honest I wasn't even tempted.
The mischievous young Dub would not rule out a future rendezvous with the American beauty.
"If me and my girlfriend broke up I'm sure I'd track her down. I wouldn't be intimidated. It's a pretty cool thing to happen though," he sai
Bono wants three albums
BONO has revealed that U2 are working on three new albums. The singer took a break from a busy touring schedule and told The Melbourne Age the first will be made up of material produced by Brian Burton. “We have about 12 songs with him,” Bono said. “At the moment, that looks like the album we will put out next because it’s just happening so easily.” Bono wants to get a club oriented record produced containing the band’s ‘90s remixes and a concept album based on Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark that opens January 11, 2011, though Bono and the Edge are still trying to convince bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. About the project. “Larry definitely has a raised eyebrow,” Bono said.
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C
o u n t r y G i r l
Click here for Lisa's full tour details Donegal based 22-year-old Irish Country star Lisa McHugh gives us a weekly insight into her life in music and news of friends in the business. Hello everyone, I hope I find you all well. In last week's column I told you all I was really looking forward to the big Highland Radio concert on Tuesday night. I was really excited about the concert as the tickets were completely sold out in one day so I knew it was going to be a brilliant night. Kicking off the show was the great John Staunton who got the crowd going from the word go! Next to take the stage was Derry born star John McNicholl, singing his latest hits including " You are no Angel" as well as all of the good old country classics that everyone loves. Finishing
off the first half of the show we had the new voice and image Nathan Carter
who had the audience going wild singing along to his radio hits " One
for The Road" and "The Rainbow In Glenfarne". After a short
break it was time for me to take to the stage and I have to say I thoroughly
enjoyed myself. Its
always a pleasure to do Highland Radio concerts as Highland Radio as a whole
has given me an unbelievable amount of support from the very beginning and
I'm delighted to also be part of their weekend to Glasgow this year in
September. It's always a fantastic weekend in Glasgow and I'm really looking
forward to all of my family and friends being able to come along to the
shows. The star of the show, the one and only Donegal worldwide superstar, Daniel O'Donnell finished the show. It's a huge honor to be on the same line up as Daniel and I always love watching his shows. He is an incredible entertainer and performing all of his classic hits certainly had the crowd singing along from start to finish. Daniel's nicest attribute is that he is always so supportive of other artists especially the younger artists starting off like myself and Nathan Carter. He even invited us all back on stage at the end of the show to sing a few songs with him which was great fun. t
was great to see everyone standing on their chairs and surrounding the front
of the stage dancing and singing along. It was certainly a Highland Radio
concert to remember. A big thanks to Charlie, Shaun Doherty, Pio and all of
the staff at Highland once again for having me on the show! After a couple of days off, It was back on the road again to The Spawell in Templogue on Friday night and then back up to Donegal on Saturday to the Riverclub in Castlefinn and on Sunday we headed to The Clanard Court Hotel in Athy, Co. Kildare. Once I came off stage in Kildare it was straight into the car to Belfast Airport to catch my 7am flight this morning to Torremolinos. As I mentioned last week I am performing on Jimmy Buckley's "Craic On The Costa" this week along with Robert Mizzell, Patrick Feeney, Patrick O'Sullivan, Hugo Duncan, Dave Lawlor and Brian Kerrigan. I'm really looking forward to a relaxing few days in the sun and of course to enjoy " The Craic On The Costa".
Don't
forget to tune in to Hot Country every Monday night at 8pm on sky channel
201 to see my brand new video. Hope you all like it! Until
next week, be safe & take care Thanks a million Lisa
McHugh
C o u n t r y G i r l talks to talented young country star Nathan Carter
Myself & Nathan Carter at my album launch at
the Mount Errigal Hotel in November.
This
week I am delighted to have the company of someone who has made a very big
impression on the Emerald Isle especially the females. Yes girls, It's the
gorgeous Nathan Carter! Q-
Nathan, thank you so much for taking time out of your hectic schedule to do
this interview for my weekly Country Girl Column. A-
No problem at all, I'm delighted to have been asked! Q-
You have been incredibly busy touring up and down the country, has your
first year been what you expected it to be? A-
The first year exceeded my expectations! I played over 250 gigs over the
course of the year and played in every county in Ireland. I've met some
wonderful people, made some great friends and the reception I got from
everyone here in Ireland has been fantastic. Q-
Did you find it hard to settle in to Ireland when you first moved over from
Liverpool? A-
No I adapted very quickly as I had always came over to Ireland to visit
family and friends every summer since I was a baby, so it was nothing new to
me. Q-
You have a huge following up and down the country, would you say they are
more of the younger generation? A-
We have a mixture of ages coming to our shows but I am thrilled to see more
and more younger people enjoying country music and coming along to the gigs. Q-
I know I am intrigued and I am sure a lot of our readers would love to know
where you learned your accordion skills? A-
Well every musician will always say they are still learning every day and I
100% agree. I got my first ever accordion when I was 5 years old and I was
taught my first tune " Danny Boy" by my late Granddad John Carter.
This led me to getting tuition from a lovely lady called Kathleen Hudson who
sadly passed when I was 9 years old. From then I self taught, I entered many
fleadh cheoils and at the age of 10, I came second in the All Ireland
Championships which was a great achievement. I loved it so much I continued
to play and here I am today… Q-
Who would your American/Irish idols be? A-
My American idols would have to be Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley & George
Strait. Daniel O'Donnell has always been someone I have admired also because
he is an ambassador for Country music all over the world and I have always
loved the music and song writing skills of the world famous Van Morrison Q-
What's your long term goal in life? A-
Well since I was very young I have always wanted to be a singer/musician so
as long as I continue doing this I will be a happy man! Q-
Do you have any free time to relax or do any other hobbies? A-
To be honest, I have very little time off. When I am not gigging, I am
either in the studio, learning new songs or planning for future gigs. So I
suppose you could say I'm a workaholic! (laughs) Q-
I have heard your brand new single "Take another little piece of my
heart" countless times on the radio, it sounds fantastic! Will there be
a brand new album to follow soon? A-
Thanks! Yes, my brand new album which is called " Time of my Life"
will be available for everyone at the end of this month. Q-
What kind of tracks can we look forward to hearing? A-
Well, I have recorded a good few songs which I grew up listening to.
They were always played in our house by my mum and dad, but, I have recorded
them in my own way and put my own stamp on them. There are 3 original
songs included on this album one of them being one of my biggest hits to
date "One for the road" which I am delighted to say went number
one in the Reverbnation Charts and I also had the wonderful opportunity of
recording a duet with the Legendary Charlie Landsborough which was a great
honor. Q-
Is there anything major happening for you this year that you would like to
let all of your fans know about? A-
Yes, as well as the release of my new album, I am very excited to tell
everyone that we will be recording our first ever Live DVD in September of
this year. There will be three concerts in Donegal, Tyrone and Enniskillen
where we will be taking footage from each venue. We are also having a Nathan
Carter Country Music weekend in Ballyliffin - Donegal at the end of October.
Joining me will be the ever popular Mike Denver & his band and also the
fantastic Declan Nerney & his band plus many more. All
of the information is on my website for anyone looking to come along and
join the fun! www.nathancartermusic.co.uk Nathan,
once again thank you so much for your time. I wish you the very best of luck
with everything and I am really looking forward to getting my copy of your
brand new album. We hope you'll come back again for another chat with us
here at the Donegal News very soon. You're
welcome thanks again for having me and I'd like to thank you Lisa, everyone
at the Donegal News and all of your readers for your continued support. I
really hope you all like my new album and I look forward to seeing you at
our gigs along the way. All of our tour dates are on my website for
everyone so it would be great to see you there! For
more information on Nathan, his music, tour dates and much, much more check
out his website www.nathancartermusic.co.uk
or you can contact his management on Office
- 02820768886, REP Ireland 04820768886 Mob 00447763634777 or email james@jwpromos.com Lisa chat's with Roly Daniels My very first interview for theblarney.info was with the man whom I could listen to and watch perform all night long! The Legendary Roly Daniels. Roly,
thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I'm delighted to have
the first interview Q- Everyone who has seen you perform can see you are such a natural performer on stage, did this come easily to you or did you have to work at it? A - Well, I suppose after the length of time I have been in the business it has became easier but it wasn't always easy and I am still to this day learning and developing in different ways. Q- When did you decide to come to Ireland to pursue a career in music & how did it happen? A - I came over from India to England first in the 1960's performing in an Irish club and it was there that I was spotted. I was then asked to come over to Ireland but I wasn't initially planning on making this my home, I thought I would only be over here for a short period of time and maybe return to England or India. Naturally when I did come to Ireland I fell in love with the place and decided to stay. Q- Are any of your family musical? A- I have two daughters that I think can sing but to get them to do so is so hard. [laughs] They're not really interested in getting into the business or making a career from it. They prefer to keep this as a hobby. Q- Are they interested in Country music or would it be pop? A- Well, they are interested in all kinds of music, I suppose I'm interested in all kinds of music but my number one would be Country, it always has been. Q- What performance to date has been your most memorable and why? A- It would have to be when I represented Ireland in Nashville at the International Fanfair Festival. There was around 16 other acts from all over the world performing at the Municipal Auditorium and I performed an original song called "I'm almost someone". I was absolutely delighted when I got a standing ovation from an audience of over 8000 people. I thoroughly enjoyed that experience but I'm still waiting to be on that stage in the Grand Ole Opry . Its a yearning of mine to do so before my singing days come to an end. Q- As many of our readers will know, you have very recently finished a dancing tour with Brendan Quinn & Myself across Ireland. Was the dancing scene what you expected it to be? A
- It wasn't no, It has been a long time since I was involved in the dance
scene but I have to say I really enjoyed the tour and I didn't think I
would. It was a pleasure working with you and Brendan on the tour and I am
sad it has all come to an end.
Q- Are there any plans in place for you to do some more recording in the near future? A- My good wife Sarah is a Donegal gal and she has been on to me to do some more recording. I haven't recorded anything since my duet album with Dee Reilly which I enjoyed very much but I am getting itchy feet now and I am thinking of recording an album of my own. You never know I may even record two once I get in the mood to make up for lost time. Be safe and take care. Thanks
a million, Lisa
McHugh
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with such a true legend in Country Music.